Claire wanted to go after Noah immediately.
Dominic refused.
Their argument shook the entire study.
“You are not walking into a Moretti trap.”
“My brother is there!”
“And if you go without a plan, he’ll have both of you.”
“I don’t care what happens to me.”
“I do!”
The words exploded from Dominic with enough force to silence everyone.
Claire froze.
Adrian looked away.
Marco suddenly became fascinated by his phone.
Dominic stood across from Claire, chest rising and falling.
For the first time, his control was completely gone.
“I care what happens to you,” he repeated.
Quietly now.
“More than I should. More than I planned to. More than I know what to do with.”
Claire couldn’t speak.
Dominic ran a hand through his hair.
“I married you because I could keep you safe.”
His voice became rough.
“I stayed away from you because I thought one year of loneliness was better than trapping you emotionally in a marriage you never chose.”
“Dominic…”
“And then you started leaving coffee outside my study when I worked late.”
Claire swallowed.
“You noticed?”
“I noticed everything.”
He almost laughed.
“It was the problem.”
He stepped closer.
“The stupid yellow flowers you put in the kitchen. The way you argue with television reporters. The fact you read the final page of novels first.”
“That is not a crime.”
“It should be.”
Despite herself, Claire laughed.
Dominic’s expression softened.
Then broke.
“And every day I wanted you more.”
The room seemed to disappear.
“So tonight,” Claire whispered, “when you said—”
“I lied.”
“Why?”
“Because four months from now, you were supposed to be free.”
She stared at him.
“You thought hurting me would make that easier?”
“Yes.”
“That might be the dumbest thing you have ever done.”
“I’m becoming aware.”
Claire looked at this man she had spent eight months trying to understand.
The dangerous businessman.
The distant husband.
The man who had secretly protected her brother every day.
The man who apparently loved badly enough to confuse cruelty with sacrifice.
She wanted to kiss him.
She also wanted to slap him.
Noah came first.
“You can apologize after we get my brother.”
Dominic nodded.
“Deal.”
The plan began.
Moretti demanded the original flash drive.
Dominic agreed to an exchange at an abandoned freight terminal near the Chicago River.
Adrian immediately objected.
“He’ll kill you the moment he has it.”
“He won’t have it.”
Dominic held up an identical drive.
“Copy?”
“Partial.”
Marco smiled.
“Enough real information to pass an initial inspection. Nothing sensitive enough to hurt anyone before we can shut access down.”
Claire crossed her arms.
“And what happens to Noah?”
“We extract him.”
“We?”
Dominic looked at her.
“You’re staying here.”
Claire laughed.
“No.”
“Claire.”
“Absolutely not.”
“Moretti specifically asked for you.”
“Exactly.”
“That is why you are not coming.”
Adrian leaned against the desk.
“She has a point.”
Dominic turned.
“Nobody asked you.”
“I’m accustomed to that.”
Claire stepped between them.
“Moretti wants me because he thinks I’m leverage.”
“Yes.”
“So use that.”
“No.”
“Dominic.”
“No.”
She moved closer until only inches separated them.
“You said beside you.”
His expression changed.
“At Adrian’s party.”
“Does it expire after midnight?”
“That was before someone kidnapped your brother.”
“And this is after I discovered the truth about my mother.”
Dominic closed his eyes briefly.
When he opened them, Claire knew she had won.
“I hate this.”
“Good.”
“If you leave my sight—”
“I won’t.”
“If I tell you to run—”
“I decide whether running is smart.”
“Claire.”
“Compromise.”
Adrian laughed from behind them.
“She’s going to destroy you.”
Dominic stared at Claire.
“She already has.”
The exchange was scheduled for noon.
Before leaving, Claire changed clothes.
Not into something dramatic.
Black pants.
Boots.
A fitted coat.
She left the red dress lying across the bed.
At the door, she paused.
Dominic stood behind her.
“You should stay.”
“No.”
“I had to try one last time.”
Claire turned.
“Are you afraid?”
“Yes.”
The honesty surprised her.
“For Noah?”
“For both of you.”
She studied him.
“What about yourself?”
Dominic shrugged.
Claire’s anger returned instantly.
“That has to stop.”
“What?”
“Acting like your life matters less.”
His expression became unreadable.
“People depend on you too.”
“Claire—”
“I’m serious.”
She stepped closer.
“If we survive today, you don’t get to decide alone that I’m leaving in four months.”
His eyes darkened.
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying if there’s a divorce, I decide too.”
Dominic stared at her.
Hope looked strange on his face.
Almost young.
“Understood.”
“And you’re eating the risotto.”
“It may not survive reheating.”
“Then I’ll make another.”
His eyes dropped to her mouth.
“Claire.”
She knew what he wanted.
For once, she wanted the same thing.
But she stepped backward.
“Get Noah home first.”
Dominic nodded.
“Yes, ma’am.”
The freight terminal stood between warehouses, rusting tracks, and abandoned loading docks.
Wind came off the river.
Dominic drove the final vehicle himself.
Claire sat beside him.
Adrian’s people remained several blocks away.
Marco’s team approached from the south.
Federal authorities had already received portions of the ledger.
Moretti didn’t know that.
At least they hoped he didn’t.
Dominic stopped the car.
Three black vehicles waited.
A tall older man stepped out.
Salvatore Moretti.
His silver hair moved in the wind.
Two armed men stood beside him.
And then Noah appeared.
Claire’s heart broke.
His hands were tied, but he seemed unhurt.
“Claire!”
She opened the door.
Dominic grabbed her wrist.
“Slow.”
She nodded.
They stepped out together.
Moretti smiled.
“The Russo prince and his purchased bride.”
Dominic’s face hardened.
Claire answered before he could.
“Nobody purchased me.”
Moretti laughed.
“Your father might disagree.”
“My father has been wrong about many things.”
Noah looked terrified.
Claire kept her attention on him.
Dominic held up the drive.
“You want this.”
Moretti extended his hand.
“Bring it.”
“Send the boy.”
“You know better.”
Dominic smiled coldly.
“So do you.”
Moretti’s eyes narrowed.
The standoff lasted several seconds.
Then he pushed Noah toward one of his men.
“Halfway.”
Dominic nodded.
They moved.
One step.
Two.
Three.
Noah and the guard approached from the opposite direction.
Claire’s hands trembled.
“Noah, look at me.”
He did.
“Everything is okay.”
She didn’t know whether it was true.
But Noah nodded.
They reached the midpoint.
Dominic held out the drive.
Moretti’s man reached for it.
Then someone shouted from above.
“Police!”
Everything exploded into movement.
Moretti’s men scattered.
Dominic grabbed Noah with one arm and Claire with the other.
“Down!”
They dropped behind a concrete barrier.
Gunshots cracked across the terminal.
Claire covered Noah’s head.
Dominic stayed over both of them.
Sirens screamed from every direction.
Moretti shouted something.
Then a vehicle engine roared.
Dominic looked over the barrier.
“He’s running.”
“Let him!” Claire shouted.
Dominic looked at her.
She grabbed his face.
“No chasing.”
He hesitated.
Then nodded.
For once, Dominic chose staying over pursuing an enemy.
Minutes later, officers surrounded the terminal.
Noah was shaking.
Claire untied his hands.
He threw his arms around her.
She held him so tightly he protested.
“I need oxygen.”
She laughed and cried simultaneously.
Dominic crouched beside them.
Noah looked at him.
“You came.”
Dominic frowned.
“Of course.”
Noah stared at him like the answer mattered.
Then he hugged Dominic.
Dominic froze.
Claire watched the most feared man she knew completely lose the ability to move.
Slowly, awkwardly, he put one arm around Noah.
“Don’t make a habit of getting kidnapped.”
Noah laughed shakily.
“I’ll try.”
Claire wiped her face.
Behind them, officers announced that several of Moretti’s men were in custody.
Moretti himself had escaped.
Dominic looked toward the river.
Claire knew that expression.
The war wasn’t over.
Then Marco approached.
“We found Moretti’s vehicle.”
“Where?”
“Two blocks north.”
“Empty?”
“Yes.”
Dominic swore.
Marco glanced at Claire.
“There’s something else.”
“What?”
“He left a phone inside.”
Dominic took it.
A message appeared on the screen.
YOU HAVE THE BOY. I HAVE YOUR FATHER.
Claire stared at it.
Robert.
After everything he had done, after every lie, every betrayal, anger should have been the only emotion she felt.
It wasn’t.
He was still her father.
Dominic looked at her.
“You don’t have to save him.”
Claire stared at the message.
“Yes,” she whispered. “I do.”
Not because he deserved it.
Because she refused to become the kind of person who let other people’s sins decide who she was.